of Barry County
Serenity Village is neither. To be admitted, a new resident MUST already be under the care of a licensed hospice which will continue to provide care. We are not licensed as a nursing home or foster care home. While there are few independent facilities like ours, we are using Eaton County Palliative Care as our model. They have successfully stayed in business for nearly 40 years and have been a partner in helping to develop Serenity Village.
Serenity Village is not a licensed facility and therefore is not covered by insurance. While it costs approximately $5,000 to care for each resident, the care at Serenity Village will be absorbed by a combination of patient fees, donations, and public support. It is supported by our community through memorial gifts and donations from people like you. Without such support, we cannot continue to stay open.
Using revenue models that are similar to facilities like Serenity Village, our anticipated revenue will come from various sources:
The inclusion of volunteers and maintaining a limited bed capacity will allow us to keep our expenses at a manageable level. Overall, we feel confident that once operational, Serenity Village will be here for many years to come.
Serenity will be staffed by Certified Nursing Assistants and volunteers, many of whom have hospice or medical backgrounds. We will rely heavily on volunteers to provide care to residents and other support for Serenity Village. Please contact us if you would like to learn more about becoming a volunteer!
You are encouraged to provide as much care for your loved one as you are able. This is their home for a short time. When you are tired, you are encouraged to rest, either here or at home, and allow our staff to take over. Families are required to provide meals for their loved one.
Your hospice nurse will continue to see and care for your loved one at Serenity Village. The hospice chaplain may continue to visit and hospice volunteers will be encouraged to come and spend time as before. The Hospice Nurse is still in charge of the medical care under the physician’s direction and our staff will always be guided by their direction.
All residents at Serenity are expected to be hospice patients prior to admission. Serenity Village is for short term care at the end of life and residents admitted must be certified by their hospice team to be “actively dying.” While there are various interpretations of this term, our intention is to welcome patients who are within their final few weeks of life as determined by their hospice team. All admissions are expected to have signed a “do not resuscitate” order with the hospice prior to admission. As our residents have a very short life expectancy, we require that funeral arrangements be completed prior to admission.
If you were accustomed to medicating your loved one at home, you may certainly continue to do so. If you are not available, our staff will do so in the same way. We will be guided at all times by the hospice nurse. If there are questions, the hospice nurse will be consulted.